HARTSVILLE, S.C. – April 6, 2011 – Continuing a tradition that began last year during President Robert Wyatt’s inauguration as the 16th president of Coker College, Coker will host a three-day campus-wide Celebration of Academics Monday, April 18, through Wednesday, April 20.

“The celebration in 2010 was enthusiastically embraced both by our campus community and by our neighbors throughout region,” said Wyatt. “In fact, the overwhelming success of Coker’s Celebration of Academics last year was a contributing factor to our being recognized this year on ‘CollegesofDistinction.com,’ a national college guide site that includes only two other colleges from South Carolina.”

According to Professor of Political Science and Philosophy Jim Lemke, who has headed planning both years’ events, one of the most important aspects of the celebration is that it asks our community to pause from their daily routines long enough to revel in the richness of knowing that learning is not about architecture and classroom furniture, it’s about personal engagement, and it is a thing well worth celebrating.

“Many people have the unfortunate tendency to think of education as something that happens in the confines of a box—the classroom. Not at Coker,” he said. “For us, learning happens everywhere. Rejecting the tired admonition to think outside the box, we ask, instead, what box?”

This year’s schedule includes the final presentation of the College’s Last Lecture Series by College Provost and Professor of Biology Patricia Lincoln, a dozen poster presentations of student research and service-learning projects, 18 presentations of student-faculty research, and a grand culminating presentation, Coker’s annual Performing Arts Showcase.

The following events of the Celebration of Academics are free and open to the public.

ImagesTop: Robert L. Wyatt, President of Coker CollegeBottom: James W. Lemke, Professor of Political Science and Philosophy

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Coker College readies undergraduates for personal and professional success through a distinctive four-year program that emphasizes a practical application of the liberal arts as well as hands-on and discussion-based learning within and beyond the classroom. Coker is ranked among the “Best Colleges” in the South by U.S. News & World Report as well as The Princeton Review. Located in Hartsville, S.C., Coker is within two hours of the cultural, financial and recreational resources of Charlotte, Columbia, Charleston and Myrtle Beach.